CECOE Preliminary Report on Referendum Day Voting in SNNPR Region of Ethiopia

It is well known that several nations, nationalities, and peoples in the Southern Nation, Nationalities and Peoples Region (SNNPR) have put forth claim to be a region on its own independent of SNNPR. Among these are the Sidama region, which became a region following a referendum on November 20, 2019, and recently the South West Ethiopia Region, which successfully held a referendum on September 30, 2021, to establish the 11 th Ethiopian region. Following the approval of six zones and five special woredas in the SNNPR to establish a region by their councils in June 2022, the House of Federation (HoF) informed the National Election Board of Ethiopia (NEBE) to prepare for a referendum. On February 06, 2023, NEBE conducted a referendum on the above-listed zones and districts.